Bed-stay



G. BETHEA.

(No Model.)

BED STAY.

No. 390,336. Patented Oct. 2, 1888.

WITNE$SES1 ATTORNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT Grates.

GADE BETHEA, OF MOBILE, TEXAS.

BED-STAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,-336, dated October2, 1888.

Application filed January 20, 1888. Serial No. 261,341. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CADE BETHEA, of Mo bile, in the county of Tyler andState of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Bed-Stay, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to stays for bedsteads,

I hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l is a plan view of a bedstead with some of themattress-supporting slats broken away and with my improved stay applied;and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the center coupling and lock of thebed-stay.drawu to an enlarged scale.

In carrying out the present invention I use two main stay-wires, A B,which are doubled at their center parts, and are twisted a turn or twoat a I), respectively, to form a long loop, A, in the stay-wire A and ashorter loop, B, in the stay-wire B. From its loop A the wire A isdiverged toward the headboard 0 and side rails, D, of the bedstead, andafter being passed through eyes or staples E E, fixed in the oppositerails, D D, the extremities of said wire A are connected to hooks, eyes,or staples F F, fixed in the headboard of the bedstead. The stay-wirefastenings E F are arranged about like distances from the adjacentcorner-posts G- G of the bedstead. From its loop B the stay-wire B isdiverged toward the foot-board H and side rails, D D, of the bedstead,and after being passed through eyes or staples I I, fixed in theopposite rails, D D, the extremities of the wire B are attached to eyesor staples J J, fixed in the ioot-board of the bedstead, said parts I Jbeing arranged about like distances from the adjacent corner-posts K Kof the bedstead.

As a locking device for the bedstay, I employ a plate or lever, L, whichis fulerumed on the end of the long loop Aef the staywire A, and isprovided with a laterally-bent hook or lip, M, at its opposite end, andin one edge has one or more notches, Z, three being pre ferred, andwhereby, when the end of the loop B of the stay-wire is slipped into oneof the notches while the lever L stands about vertically, and the leveris then swung downward until its hook M may be caught under one side ofthe stay-loop A, as shown in the drawings, the opposite stay-wires A Bwill be drawn or strained up tightly, and the wires will not only holdthe corner-posts firmly to the head and foot boards and opposite siderails of the bedstead, but the wires will also draw the side rails, D D,tightly to the ends of the bed-slats N, thus making of the bedsteadavery firm and substantial structure, strongly braced against rackingstrains.

The locking-lever L is made and operates substantially in the mannerdescribed for the locking device in my aforesaid prior patent; but theblocks on the stay-wires shownin said patent are herein substituted bythe bends or twists a b of the stay-wires, which is a far simpler andmore inexpensive construction, while the connection of the extremitiesof the stay-wires with both the side rails and the head and foot boardsof the bedstead, as herein described, instead of to the corner-posts ofthe bedstead, as in the former construction, costs but very little more,while greatly increasing the stability of the entire structure.

Having thus described my inventiomwhat I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

l. A bed-stay consisting of wires A B, dou bled at their center partsand twisted at ab, to form loops A B, respectively, and diverged fromsaid twisted partsa b and attached to the corner portions of thebedstead, and a tension and locking device consisting of astraininglever fulcrumed to one of the loops and adapted to lock thereonand engaging the other loop, substantially as herein set forth.

2. The combination, in a bedstay, of wires 1 having a hook, M, andnotches Z and engaging A B, bent double and twisted at a b, to form thewire loops A B, substantially as described, loops AB, respectively, andthe diverging end for the purposes set forth. parts of said wires A 13,passed through eyes I GADE BETHEA. 5 or staples E I in the bedstead siderails and Witnesses:

connected to the head and foot boards of the J. H. HANsFoRD, bedstead,and a tension and locking device, L, H. C. LITTREAL.

